From the Cellar
A South African Couple
28 Sep 2014- Details
- Category: Uncorked Tonight
(August 15, 2014) ... I will admit that back in the day I used to buy quite a bit of South African wine, the reasons were purely economic, they were fairly inexpensive. But as I tasted more and more South African wines I found that the cheap ones were laced with road tar and band-aid aromas, and in many cases followed onto the palate ... I have not bought a cheap South African wine in a long time. One of the wines I do have in my possession is not cheap, I got it on sale, but it definitely was never cheap. It was during a South African wine seminar and tasting that I first got to try Leopard Frog 2004 Tantra, a Cabernet Franc 44% / Cabernet Sauvignon 32% / Petit Verdot 24% blend made by David John Bates a Canadian winemaker living in South Africa ... I would have to say the room was blown away by the wine, and the price. But because the seminar was part of an educational show the LCBO honchos at the time decided not to put their markup on the wine and hence this bottle was virtually half-price. I bought a couple. This is the last bottle of this wine I have and I was saving it for a special occasion ... Alas, when that is your criteria the special occasion never arrives ... So I pulled it out tonight with some friends hoping to impress. The nose had became very much on the leathery and earthy side showing off little to no fruit at all. The palate, on the other hand, was definitely on the downward slide but still showed nice plum and dried fruits, there was also some smooth leathery notes, and aghast there was a touch of that tell-tale South African bandaid, I don't remember it ever being there when it was young. Maybe it's a South African thing no matter what the wine.
I promised two South African wines off the top and here's the second ... And trust me, this one I knew I was too late with but had to open and try it anyway: a Graham Beck 2003 Railroad Red, which, at this point in its life, was truly an atrocity of a wine. My bad for letting it sit this long.
